Gabriel Basso says social media has turned people into voyeurs obsessed with strangers' lives: 'It's weird'
Actor Gabriel Basso discussed the impact of social media on human connection at the Tribeca Film Festival. He described platforms as turning users into voyeurs who trade genuine interaction for controllable, distant relationships. Basso’s directorial debut, the psychological thriller "Iconoclast," explores these themes through a story of a young man obsessed with an online influencer.
- ▪Basso, known for "The Night Agent," wrote, directed and stars in the upcoming film "Iconoclast," which premiered at Tribeca 2026.
- ▪In the film, Basso’s character Connor becomes fixated on a live‑streaming influencer, highlighting the dangers of parasocial relationships.
- ▪Basso told Fox News Digital that social media creates an illusion of intimacy while removing the unpredictability of real human interaction.
- ▪He urged people who feel trapped online to put their phones down and seek authentic connections.
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| Original publisher | Fox News |
| Canonical URL | https://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/gabriel-basso-social-media-voyeurs-obsessed-strangers-weird |
| Publication time | Mon, 15 Jun 2026 08:00:55 -0400 |
| Retrieval time | 2026-06-15T12:17:58.270Z |
| Last seen | 2026-06-15T12:17:58.270Z |
| Headline source | Publisher (no WeSearch rewrite) |
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| Summary | WeSearch · cerebras-chat (WeSearch summarizer) |
| Summary source text | contentText |
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| Ranking reason | Story pages are not engagement-ranked. Hub feeds use recency, with optional source-diversified chronological ordering (cap consecutive stories per source). No personalized ranking. |
| Publisher visit | Yes — open original |
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Tribeca Film Festival Gabriel Basso says social media has turned people into voyeurs obsessed with strangers' lives: 'It's weird' The actor's directorial debut 'Iconoclast' explores parasocial relationships and online validation at Tribeca Festival By Stephanie Giang-Paunon Fox News Published June 15, 2026 8:00am EDT Facebook Twitter Threads Flipboard Comments Print Email Add Fox News on Google close Video ‘Iconoclast’ star Gabriel Basso warns social media creates ‘illusion’ of connection Gabriel Basso, best known for his role in "The Night Agent," tells Fox News Digital at the Tribeca Festival that he thinks social media turns users into voyeurs and urges people feeling trapped online to put their phones down.
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Excerpt limited to ~120 words for fair-use compliance. The full article is at Fox News.
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